


She Pressed Play

by AkisMusicBox



Category: Skip Beat!
Genre: And Ren Wants to Play House, Dreams, F/M, Implied Masturbation, Implied Sexual Content, Kyoko Gets a Bit Bold, Kyoko is Eighteen Years Old, Researching a Romance Scene
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-25
Updated: 2019-10-03
Packaged: 2020-10-27 19:41:10
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 5,710
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20765879
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AkisMusicBox/pseuds/AkisMusicBox
Summary: After failing an audition with a romance component, Kanae and Chiori give Kyoko a list of movie to learn from...and one of them includes Ren!





	1. Send

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [Every Time You've Stirred My Heart](https://archiveofourown.org/works/19965955) by [AkisMusicBox](https://archiveofourown.org/users/AkisMusicBox/pseuds/AkisMusicBox). 

> I had this idea before I eventually came up with Every Time You've Stirred My Heart. It's going to be considerably shorter, but I thought it was time to share this fun, weird take on Kyoko expanding her *ahem* acting skills.

Kyoko hadn't been able to sleep well since the audition. It wasn't because she was rejected, though - she understood the reason for that fully. It was because the 'remedial study material' Kanae and Chiori had assigned her was invading her dreams.

The _Heat of the Night_ audition had gone well for the first reading, but she had nothing to draw from for the second - the main female character, waking up in the morning next to her lover for the first time. Drawing from her experience with Sho turned her into a lovey-dovey push-over, swiftly getting out of bed to go make breakfast. When she told them, Chiori laughed out loud, and Kanae rolled her eyes so far Kyoko feared them getting stuck. "That's clearly not the character, Kyoko. This is an empowered, sexy woman!" Kanae had groaned.

"Natsu had 'empowered' down, no problem," Chiroi pointed out. "But you're missing sexy? You're saying Sho and you never...?"

"Of course not!"

"Sorry, sorry! Makes sense," Chiori had said innocently. "But your naivety can't stand now that you're an adult."

Kyoko had been grateful that they weren't actually suggesting she _acquire_ experience, just watch a few movies. They vowed these weren't pornography, merely movies with excellent scenes of 'before' or 'after', so she could understand the mood. Movies that no one would blink twice at her renting - they were cinematic hits, after all.

She watched the first few relatively painlessly. It became clear that Kyoko's audition missed the playfulness and coziness of waking up next to someone you love. _Not that I could relate. _However, her career would be seriously sidetracked if she couldn't nail romance.

Kyoko had to scream into a pillow to keep from waiting up Taisho and Okami when she watched the fourth movie. She called Kanae the instant the scene started, "Moko! HOW COULD YOU?!"

"What did I do?"

"This - this movie! It has Tsuruga in it!"

Kanae signed dramatically. "A lot of movies do."

"He came OUT OF THE BATH, WRAPPED HIMSELF IN A TOWEL, AND IS SEDUCING A WOMAN!"

"Oh, haven't finished the scene yet?"

Kyoko stared at the TV screen, frozen on the camera panning up Ren's torso, beads of water still clinging to his chiseled abdomen.

"NO! IT'S INAPPROPRIATE!"

"It's a widely successful movie, it can't be that bad. And they filmed it right after he was 18, which made it easy for it to become a cult classic in America. Only sounds like a problem if you're in love with the guy and don't want the world to see him like that."

Kyoko hung up before she could start lecturing Kanae. She called Chiori, only to get a similar response.

She knew she should have turned the TV off. To stop the movie and switch to a different one. But her mind went back to Cain and Setsu's hotel room. She knew how that chest felt trapped between her thighs. She knew how soft that skin was against her hands. And she knew how his neck tasted.

So she pressed 'play'.

The week following, Kyoko's dreams kept playing that scene, with her instead of the main actress. Sometimes, it was on the movie set. Sometimes, it was in his apartment, and sometimes hers. Sometimes it was Katsuki coming out of the shower, sometimes Cain, and others, Ren. Once, it was Kyoko herself, towel still wrapped dangerously low around her waist. _ That one doesn't even make sense! The towel doesn't even cover... even cover... _ But in the dream, she was proud of her small bust, because that meant it was easy for Ren's hands to cover her. _ I shouldn't be thinking like this. This is a dangerous road to go down. _

When Kyoko had vowed herself to spinsterhood, she had done her research. Others who had done the same seemed to run into one major problem - and that was the _physical_ loneliness, especially for those who had been intimate before. That was at least something Kyoko had in her favor, but being entirely in the dark would be a disaster for her career. She had learned how to handle those impulses herself. However, the ache she felt after those dreams was different. _ It's wrong. I love him. I owe my career to him - and it would be so very, very wrong. _

So she managed it the best she could - she found other works for her to visualize and took pains to make sure she was not in the scene in her mind. _At all_. And in the moment, it worked. But after, when the waves of pleasure and relaxation had had her way with her, she ached to be held. By Ren.

To her luck, Ren's schedule was packed that week, so she wasn't forced to try and keep her cool around him. Dealing with Kanae and Chiori's teasing about her progress through the list was positively painless in comparison.

She thought she had everything under control until Ren texted her one evening. _ "Mogami-san, are you busy tomorrow? I happen to have a free day tomorrow and have decided to reorganize my apartment. Do you have some time to help me?" _

_Red alert, red alert! _ Her grudges chimed in unison. _ We have a code 7, I repeat, Ren Tsuruga is trying to do a movie number 7! He wants to play house! _

Kyoko clenched her phone. _ Ren's not trying to get me to do the work for him. He's not Shotaro. But...he clearly wants to spend time with me. _ She could feel the heat rising in her gut, that omen of temptation. _ No, no! This can't be romantic. Isn't romance supposed to be taking someone out to dinner? Buying them flowers? Don't read into this! _

But her body disagreed. Because Ren wanted her to rummage through his belongings as if he had nothing to hide, and Kyoko wanted to do that. Very much.

She took a deep breath and took a page out of main character number 8's book. _ "You don't seem like you have much to reorganize, Tsuruga-san. What could you need my help for?" _

She bit her lip when she hit 'send'.

His response was almost instantaneous. _ "I have considerable storage that may be deceiving. But primarily...I have considerable amounts of cookware that see no use. You use my kitchen far more often than I do, so I thought it would be prudent to make sure it is up to your standards." _

The heat rose as her mind went blank. Her grudges were screaming.

Her fingers were typing before she could even think the words.

_"I have a LoveMe job in the morning, but I can be over by 1pm!"_

_"Perfect. See you then :)"_


	2. Such A Waste

That night, they were back in Guam, sharing a fruity drink out of a pineapple. Ren was soaking wet, his dark hair clinging around his angular face. His shirt was unbuttoned, so she could watch beads of water run down his chest. She wanted to lick them off. Instead, she pushed herself out of her chair and leaned over the table, making sure to lock eyes with him as she licked her lips. His pupils dilated, taking away more of the rich green that she could lose herself in. She couldn't tolerate that, so she grabbed his shirt and pulled him into her. She kissed him.

* * *

Kyoko focused all of her energy on her work for the LoveMe division, distracting herself from her dream. On her way to Ren's apartment, she told herself _ I'm not going there to attack him! I'm just organizing the kitchen! _

_ Not the kitchen. Your kitchen. The kitchen he wants you to feel comfortable with_. The thought made her stomach leap and quicken her pace. _ This is a trap. There has to be a trap, somewhere. Japan's most eligible bachelor can't possibly...can't possibly... _

Ren opened his door with an easy grin. "Thanks so much, Mogami. I hate to be a bother."

Her heart fluttered. Ren wore a dark blue button-up, sleeves rolled to his elbows and shirt buttoned up only halfway. Slim fit grey shorts skimmed above his knee. Casual. Comfortable. He was just spending a day in his home.

_And his home includes you._

_Does he always expose his chest that much?!_

"No, no! I'm happy to help!" Her voice caught in her throat until she saw several boxes marked 'Donate', overflowing with high-end items. "Wha-what is all of this?!" She gasped in horror. "All of this, and it's barely used!" She scowled at Ren. "What is with you rich people?! This is such a waste!"

He shrugged. "The irony is, the more you earn, the more people want to _give_ you things. It's a terribly inequitable system."

That statement fueled her scolding they dug through his cupboards. In their efforts, they found not one, but three rice cookers gifted to him by his parents. Through some sort of word sorcery, Ren convinced Kyoko to take the nicest quality one home to replace Taisho and Okami's.

He then remembered the guest room was stocked full of pillows, so Kyoko had to catch and assess any of them that Ren pulled out of storage and tossed to her.

Twelve pillows emerged, and Ren chose two with the tags still on. "I have no doubt you need new pillows, so these two are going home with you." He loaded up a cardboard box with the pillows and took it to the living room before she could protest. She busied herself testing the pillows in the guest room with the new ones and swapped them out as appropriate until she heard a clatter from the living room. In an apparent attempt to load the rice cooker in the same box, Ren had knocked over her tote bag, and out had spilled the worst possible paper he could have discovered. He was frozen, crouched on the floor, studying it with an inscrutable look.

Kyoko froze. Her insides melted and she wanted nothing more than to slip through the floorboards and evaporate into thin air.

A flash of recognition finally crossed his face, and he looked up at her. He was a hair's breadth from a reaction, something, anything would make his mask shatter and reveal what that list truly made him feel.

"I...these timecodes and notes. You've been studying them?"

Her nod was stiff. It would only make things worse if she lied.

"You've watched them all? Including number four?"

Another chaste nod. She could feel heat rising in her face.

"Where did you get this? Why? And why aren't you talking, Mogami?!" He seemed almost distressed instead of angry. She realized it was strange - normally, she would have already launched into a massive, long-winded explanation and apology, but now she was just so terrified of him knowing what she'd been up to she was scared stiff. That he knew that she was researching sex and that _he _was involved made her -

"I'm SORRY!" she shrieked and threw herself on the floor. "Moko and Chiori made it after I failed my last audition. It- it involved a test where...where...where..." She couldn't spit the words out, not in front of _him. _She looked up and saw the Demon Lord rising in his face, and realized _he thinks it's a proper love scene. _"Where it's afterward! Waking up in the morning after...I had no idea how to handle it." Her skin was on fire, and she wanted to throw up, but he was calming down. He was still on edge, but Ren had taken back control.

"I see," he whispered, and stood, clutching the list. "I...should have expected this. An actress of your age would come up to roles with...those requirements." He buried his face in his hand and strode to the couch, sinking into it deeper than she'd ever seen. She rose from the floor and watched him carefully.

He gave a hollow chuckle. "I guess all that can be said is that they clearly didn't recommend looking for first-hand experience, which is..." His expression darkened again.

Kyoko's mood soured. She knew she'd never be good-looking enough to just be able to _find _something like that on a whim, but he didn't need to point it out -

"Their hearts were in the right place," Ren continued. "These movies do encapsulate some of the most popular dramatized love-oriented scenes. It makes sense to learn from the best." He took a deep breath and went to his entertainment center. He was almost shaking while he continued, which worried Kyoko, but she wasn't sure why. "However...if you don't have a grasp of the real thing, it's hard to learn from dramatized examples. You need a firm understanding of their differences to know how to handle a scene. It's like...when I struggled to find Katsuki. I thought I understood love until President Lory made...something clear to me." His voice cracked. "I understand...what was missing...and it became clear. You can't misinterpret what it means to understand or you'll fall into the same trap."

He seemed to be jumping around in his speech and struggling to find the right words. "Tsuruga-san?"

"I'm not telling you to -!" She saw his ears go red from this angle. He pulled out a movie from his collection and took a moment to compose himself. When he turned around, his chest and cheeks were still flushed, but he seemed to have a hold of his words. He offered her the movie. "Please...watch this. The whole thing. It's as real of a representation of sex in a loving relationship that I've ever seen. This...is a baseline. This is a lens to understand those other films." His eyes pleaded with her to take it, so she did.


	3. Breathless

The movie was called Breathless, which was a generic enough name that she thought she'd seen it, but clearly hadn't. A college-aged girl meets a college-aged boy who befriends her, and eventually, they go on a few dates. It seems to shape up as a movie about a woman's independence - and at this young stage in her life, does she really need to tie herself down with a relationship? It takes a turn when her estranged father contacts her in need of a bone marrow transplant. She's his only living relative, and she has three days to decide if she'll get tested to see if she's a match. After the call, she throws only the barest essentials in her bag and runs to the boy's house. There, she barges in and buries herself in his room. At the end of day one, she tries to seduce him. The girl looked like she had pulled techniques from movies to use. The boy, as if defusing a bomb, has to make it clear just how much he loves her, without making her feel rejected. He absolutely refuses to let their first time be so wrought with regret and attempts to hide from reality. "I want you to be okay, but I...I so selfishly don't want to be associated with something you might regret."

She instead clings to him and tells him about her father. She then asks him to go with her to the test. He agrees and they spend the next couple of days at his apartment, only leaving the apartment to stock up on cheap food. They go to the hospital on the third day, and while the doctor is taking the sample, he runs into her father. He's in the middle of making some sort of joke about how much of a coward his daughter for not just letting him die if he hates her so much to the nurse pushing his wheelchair. It takes all of the boy's strength to keep his tone even and tell him how he's full of shit, and that her valuing her her values and not inadvertently killing someone was the truly brave thing.

That evening, they made love. Not sex, because that would have been crude. They buried themselves under the white comforter and held each other and kissed each other in intensifying ways until they were fully buried under the blanket, and the camera went to black. Next, it came back in to focus, through filtered white - sun shining through the comforter, and they both woke up, naked and smiling in the morning light.

After that, life became more manageable - school work was fine, nights involved some sort of joint dinner over television, exams weren't life-ruining, and moving in a few select toiletries to his apartment was only natural. Kyoko only then realized at the end of the film that the results of the test were never revealed. However, the final scene where she ripped a hospital band off of her wrist and linked arms with him made it clear that her father was so _unimportant_ in comparison that it was manageable. No man could take away all your problems, but they weren't so big when you knew what was waiting for you _after._

Ren was right - the other movies were full of passion and desperation and physical longing, but none of them could convince her the characters felt _at home._ Sex in those instances was a retreat, an escapade, a thrill. In this film, it was..._two people who needed each other._

Kyoko's heart felt infinitely hollow when the film ended. Even when she had loved Sho, she'd never felt...like that. The weight of her problems would always crush her in the end, and there were only two people who made it go away. _Corn and Ren. _She remembered the way he had cradled him when she had died inside - not died, but her existence denied. Never born. He had brought her back to life. _Can I...can I ever do the same for him?_

_But I did. For Cain. _ Setsuka was brave enough, Setsuka had the _right_ to demand his honesty and attention. Isn't that all she truly wanted from Ren? And if movie number five taught her anything, there's a _reason_ men share something like this. _ It's personal. It resonates with them in a way they can't put into words. _

Before she could determine if he was trying to tell her that he wanted to hide from the world under a comforter with her, she restarted the movie, squeezing a pillow and biting her thumb the entire time. By the time she finished it a second time, she was shaking. She tried to text Ren but accidentally hit 'call' instead. Fortunately, she reached his voicemail and stammered out, "H-Hi. Hi. I - uh...watched the movie. Tw-twice. I...I want," _to return it, "_to talk to you. I...I'd like to come over." _Why why why did I say that?!_ She hung up immediately.

She tried to go to sleep, but she could only calm herself down by putting the movie on again. She drifted off during their second date but was roused when her phone rang at 1 am. "Mogami-san? I - I'm sorry, but you sounded like you were in distress."

_You have no idea._

"I'm sorry for worrying you. I'm just...sorting some things out."

There was a long pause.

"Would you like to come over...now?" his voice quieted, in a way that number six told her he wanted the answer to be _"Yes". _So she gave it to him.

"Please."

"I'll pick you up in twenty minutes."

She was desperate to get out of the house and walk her nerves out, but she was afraid she'd lose the tenuous thread of courage she had if she did. _And I can finish the movie one more time._ "Thank you."


	4. A Dastardly Temptation

Kyoko barely waited for the car to stop before she ripped the passenger door open. She buckled herself in and took a few deep breaths, clutching the movie to her chest. "M-Mogami-san?" he asked, alarmed. "What's wrong? Did - did the film...upset you?"

His heart sank. It had seemed like his only hope, to share this movie with a tiny budget and mixed reviews, that somehow it would connect with her in a way he failed to on his own. It was Kuon's favorite, and he couldn't bear to part with it when he moved to Japan. Even if he thought he'd never deserve to have a relationship like that, he couldn't let it go. The one thing that kept him from melting into a pool of despair when learned Kyoko was exploring sex was the idea that maybe, just _maybe_ this movie would keep her from seeing it as something shallow, and something she associated with a tool that Fuwa had used to further betray her.

_ And maybe...just maybe she'd understand that the main guy is who I want to be. Not the playboy in movie number four. _ He would have done a laundry list of morally dubious things to keep her from seeing movie number four, and further cementing him in her mind as someone like _that._ _ Especially with my one-take reputation. She'd assume I'd have gotten practice seducing older women in real life. _

"No. It's....good. It's...." She bit her lip. "It's made me think," she finished as if the words coming out of her mouth were a surprise to herself.

"About?" he asked, butterflies flapping manically in his stomach. _ But she'd never believe that, though. Not if she believes number four over Breathless. _

"Can...we go to your apartment first? I...don't want to distract you while you're driving," she said, staring out the window, running her thumb along the edge of the case.

He gripped the steering wheel for dear life, trying to keep from cackling viciously. _And how am I suppose to focus_ _when I'm speculating what _that_ is supposed to mean? _He could feel heat rising in himself, and a dastardly temptation to insist she tell the truth, in that instant, but a spark of sanity lit his way. _ If she was just going to return the movie, she'd have thrown it in the passenger seat and ran back inside. If she was disgusted with you...she wouldn't be going to your house at 2 am. _ The heat instead floated to his cheeks. He was blushing. _Jesus. Like a schoolgirl._

He took a deep breath and finally managed, "Okay," and took off. Traffic was fairly forgiving at that hour, but he still focused all of his willpower on the road instead of trying to read her expression. When they reached a red light, he downshifted, but right before he took his hand off of the gear stick, her hand darted out and stroked his. Gently, tentatively, but her soft touch grazed the back of his hand and rose goosebumps up his arm.

"Sorry," she said, more of a reflex than an actual apology.

With a shallow breath, he turned to her and said, "Don't be." He lingered long enough on her searching expression and wavering gold eyes to let her recognize the blush on his cheeks.

Her lips parted slightly as she searched her thoughts, and landed on, "Okay."

He'd have gone properly insane at that point if he hadn't felt the goosebumps still present. Instead, when the light turned green, he shifted up and weaved through the streets of Tokyo as quickly as he dared.


	5. Willing And Able

When Ren opened the door to his apartment, she felt like she could finally breathe. The air had felt thin up until that point, and while she regretted the way her withholding had distressed him, (and distress him it did, she couldn't convince herself otherwise. She was too _tired _to convince herself otherwise.) she couldn't have spoken to him properly before. She had been trying to decrypt her thoughts while oxygen-deprived - it just wouldn't work. He darted into the kitchen and fished her out a can of something to drink that she couldn't be bothered to concern herself with. Instead, she watched him make his own drink, which consisted of a generous pour of brown liquor in a glass with minimal grace.

She sat the movie on the coffee table and took a seat on the couch, fidgeting with the hem of her skirt. "I...wanted to ask you why you gave it to me. I think...it's not just an acting lesson."

When she looked up, the glass was pressed to his lips, and he was struggling to finish his drink. He lowered it slowly and simply nodded. Her stomach turned as he looked down towards her, but she didn't know if it'd be better if he sat next to her.

"Do you...believe it? Do you believe that the right person will make it all bearable?"

His expression fell. "Saying it like that...implies that a part of you could believe I'm cold enough to not believe it."

That made her wince. "I...mean that I thought that part of me had died. The part of me that could believe it. I...thought maybe you felt that way as well."

"You...thought?" he asked the slightest uptick in his voice making it possible for her to continue.

"I thought it would be in my best interest to kill that part of me. I failed. And I want to know if you failed, too."

He contemplated the contents of his nearly empty glass. "Do you think of me as a man, Kyoko?"

She felt her face light on fire. She couldn't speak. He sunk into the couch next to her and pinched the bridge of his nose.

"A man. Someone whose not above it all. Someone who has doubts and insecurities and foolish thoughts. Who...gets discouraged when a girl doesn't blush when she sees...all of me."

"I didn't! I didn't see it!"

He gave her a doubtful look, bordering on reproach.

She clenched her fists and pressed them into her thighs. She was breathing in the steam of the shower and Cain's expression taunted her. "I promise! I...I don't think I could have handled it. I'd - I'd - I'd...you'd tease me forever about it. And I'd never be able to look you in the eye again, because you couldn't take me seriously ever again. You'd think I was just like one of your _fans. _Or another co-star who fell. I can't be that. I _won't._ I...I have to stay by your side, however you'll have me." She took a deep breath. "It makes the world bearable." She closed her eyes, fighting the tears that pricked at them. "At least if I'm your student, your dedicated kohai, I can stay by your side. But, if you're a man...men fall in love. You'll leave me behind for her."

She could feel his presence next to her, but she couldn't open her eyes. She'd ruined it. She'd ruined _everything_. If she'd have just been able to figure things out _herself_, if she'd just been able to figure out what that movie _meant_, if the world wasn't so obsessed with sex then she could have stayed with him for-

His breath caressed her skin, and the only thing keeping her from bolting away was his hand on her cheek. "Please open your eyes. Please." His voice cracked. She did.

He was impossibly close, and undeniably beautiful, and inconceivably...scared._Why is he scared? Why is he scared? He can't be scared, _I'm _ the one that's scared, I'm the one whose going to have my heart -_

_"_ I need you to see me. As a man. A man with hopes and fears and needs. A man in love with you, that is terrified that even as I spell it out right now, you'll still find a way to reject me."

_No. No, that's not right. You're going to reject me._

She leaned forward and crushed his mouth with hers.

_ No...no, this isn't right! He's in love with someone else, some other high school girl! _

His kiss was hungry, a man starved for years finally given permission to eat. His lips demanded her attention but promised every bit of tenderness she'd ever need. He pulled her into him and wrapped his other arm around her back as if holding on for dear life.

_ I...I manipulated him. I made him think he loved me instead of the girl he actually loves. _

Her hands found his back and dug in.

_Quit being an absolute moron!_ Kanae's voice rang in her head. _You're already too stupid to have contrived something like that._

Something akin to a snarl came from Ren when he felt her nails press into his flesh. She would have apologized if she'd been willing and able to part, but his tongue found her and it sent a thrill through her that burned away any desire for propriety.

She was nearly gasping for breath when they parted, but their foreheads were touching, and neither of them were willing to let go. His eyes were closed when he begged, "Please...love me, Kyoko. Love me. I promise I'll make you happy."

The weight of the world leaving her, she smiled softly and whispered, "I already do. I already am."


	6. Movie Number Four

Kyoko couldn't stop yawning that morning as she dawned her LoveMe pink. "You don't have to binge them all this week, Kyoko-chan," Chiori teased as she fixed her hair in the locker room mirror.

"I didn't," she explained. "I just...got caught up in one of them in particular." She stared at the contents of her bag, trying to will away the flush that was threatening to reveal her secrets.

"Regardless," Kanae said as she tied her shoe. "Sleep deprivation is bad for your brain _and_ your skin. Even if you understand every nuance of a romance scene, you'll be useless if you look or perform terribly. And then that reflects poorly on the whole division."

"Sorry," Kyoko said as she slammed her locker door, straight on to her finger. "OWWW! OW, OW, OW!"

Chiori snorted and Kanae merely sighed. They heard a knock at the door, so Chiori answered it. "Tsuruga-san!" she exclaimed when she saw him leaning against the doorframe, slightly bemused. His posture had an ease Kyoko hadn't ever seen before - Ren was always confident, always proving himself to belong wherever he was, but this was...different. _Where have I seen this before?_

_Oh. Oh NO!_

They had _all_ seen it, because at this point, they all had seen movie number four. This was his character _after, _basking in how wonderful the world and everything in it was.

Kanae stared him down as he said, "I apologize, ladies. I thought I heard a familiar scream and figured it be worth checking in." He watched Kyoko with a twinkle in his eye. "Are you almost ready, Kyoko-chan?"

The moment Kyoko's insides melted, they froze in the next as Kanae's stare locked on her. _ Why did you sleep with him, Kyoko?! How could you, when you accuse him of being a playboy all of the time!? What is wrong with you?! _ the look shrieked. Kyoko grabbed her bag and rushed to his side.

How could she possibly explain? She did sleep with him, in the most literal sense - they shared the same bed, under the same blanket, and they slept...in between waking up and kissing and touching off and on through the few hours left in the early morning. Despite how some of the touching was far from innocent, they both remained clothed.

Well...fairly clothed. Ren's shirt came off because it kept riding up in ways that looked uncomfortable, so Kyoko helped him take it off. And Kyoko's cardigan had been swiftly abandoned in some corner of his room, and her skirt kept shifting up in a way she soon stopped caring about, but besides that, clothed!

They most _certainly _did not have sex. Her hands might have ventured near places commonly associated with it, and he seemed to certainly appreciate the exploration. And he may have made her feel things she'd never even made herself feel, but it was all above clothing!

But would Kanae ever believe it with the way he's acting? _ He's full of the swagger men get after a night of romantic entanglement. _ Which, was technically accurate - romantic feelings were expressed and acted upon, just not in _ that way. And, there may have been a lot of fabric getting tangled...but I'll find a way to explain it to her. It's not too bad yet, it's still perfectly plausibly deniable, Chiori might help me - _

"What happened?" he asked, raising a lazy eyebrow.

She held her throbbing finger up. "Slammed it in my locker. It's okay, it's not bleeding or anything."

"Let me see," he asked, holding out a hand. She laid it on his palm, and he gave it a quick look before raising it to his mouth and giving it a lingering kiss. "That should do the trick."

Someone squeaked. She couldn't be sure if the source was her, Kanae, or Chiori, but he shut the door behind them and flashed her a devilish smile before she could figure it out.

"Wha - why - whhyyyyy!?! I'm _dead, I'm done for! _You know what they _think _right?! They think we -"

"Does your finger still hurt?" he asked.

"A little! But that's not even what -" He pulled her into him and stole another kiss, curling his fingers in her hair. Her head was spinning when they finally parted.

"Still?"

"What finger?" she asked in a haze.

"Perfect," he smiled and took her hand.

"Wait," she said, tugging back. "The list...you recognized movie number four, that I understand. But...that couldn't have been enough for you to understand the contents of the whole list, could it?"

He chuckled. "Amamiya and Kotonami were rather kind to compile that list for you, but it's certainly not an original. This is an entertainment agency - lists of movies and TV shows that depict superior displays of all kinds of subjects have been floating around here for years for talent to study. Though, it seemed to have been modified quite a bit since I've last seen it, and I can't deny being flattered to make the list."

She furrowed her brow. "I - I'm not following."

He flashed her a devilish smile. "Kyoko-chan, how do you think I prepared for movie number four?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Short, sweet, and to the point! And by 'short', it's still 6 chapters, 'sweet' is still full of angst and self-doubt, and 'to the point' means just enough interior monologues to make sure Kyoko and Ren don't feel OOC xD
> 
> This was the fic idea I had originally before I started on Every Time You've Stirred My Heart, so if this fic's up your alley, check out that one! And maybe you'll see where the inspiration comes from, and be able to figure out what's coming up next.
> 
> I'm eternally grateful for the support, comments, kudos, and conversation on the Discord. Writing can be a really lonely hobby, but knowing that it's bringing joy to others as well makes it all worthwhile!


End file.
